The Lament
of Spice Island
Every friendship is an island.
I made these ten cards the summer my friend disappeared on Spice Island.
Some I painted from memory. The others, I am still waiting for.
Draw one, and see which shore you are standing on.
Take a breath. Think of someone you cannot let go of.
The Coast
Look at what surrounds the story.
The cards speak through recurring signs. Before you look for an answer, notice what is lit, what is hidden, and what stands between two shores.
The sun shows how much of the truth is lit. A large sun means nothing in the card can hide. A hidden sun means the truth is there, but something stands in front of it. A setting sun means something is ending, whether or not anyone has said so.
The moon is what is felt rather than seen. Here it is only ever a crescent: something half revealed, and half still kept from you.
The sea is the bond, and everything beyond it. The same water that joins two islands also keeps them apart.
The sand is shared ground. It holds footprints, but never for long.
The leaves grow at the edges while you watch the middle. Notice how often they frame the corners, as if the island were looking in.
Pink and blue are two friends and two colors. Watch who wears which, and whose towel each one carries.
Visit a shore again.
You can draw again, or revisit any card in the deck.